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IN THE CROWN COURT AT STAFFORD
REGINA (HSE)
V
MERLIN ATTRACTIONS OPERATIONS LIMITED
SENTENCING REMARKS
BEFORE: His Honour Judge Michael Chambers Q.C.
26 th^ and 27th^ September, 2016
Introduction
On the 2 nd^ June, 2015 members of the public visiting the Alton Towers amusement park, mainly young people, suffered life changing and serious injuries in an accident on a rollercoaster as a result of the defendant company’s catastrophic failure to assess risk and have a structured system of work. Human error was not the cause, as was suggested by the defendant in an early press release. The defendant now accepts the prosecution case that the underlying fault was the absence of a structured and considered system, not that of individual engineers doing their best within a flawed system. Members of the public had been exposed to serious risk of one train colliding with another when the controlling computer system was re-set having been overridden to enable the engineers to address faults since the opening of the Smiler rollercoaster two years before in May, 2013. This was a needless and avoidable accident in which those injured were fortunate not to have been killed or to have bled to death. It was, in my judgement aggravated by the lack of proper emergency access to the accident site which meant that those injured remained trapped in great pain and distress hanging at an angle of 45 degrees some 20 feet above the ground for 4 to 5 hours before being released by the emergency services and taken to hospital.
The “thrill of the fair” is a long established tradition in which members of the public in great numbers, particularly children and young people, enjoy the excitement and illusion of danger. But it should be just that – an illusion. They do not actually expect to be injured. That is why this case has rightly received considerable public interest and concern. Those, such as this defendant, who
operate such rides for commercial gain are under a very high duty of care to ensure that their users are safe at all times. In this case, it is, of course, not suggested that this was a deliberate breach, but the defendant company fell far short of the standards that the public are entitled to expect. By its plea of guilty it has acknowledged that and is entitled to proper credit, as it is for co- operating fully with the investigation.
The Charge
This is a committal to the Crown Court for sentence following the defendant Merlin Attractions Operations Limited’s plea of guilty in the Magistrates’ Court to an offence contrary to section 33(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act, 1974, namely that it on or before the 2nd^ June, 2015 failed to conduct its undertaking in such a way as to ensure, so far as was reasonably practicable, that the visitors to Alton Towers theme park were not exposed to material risks to their health and safety.
The offence is concerned primarily with punishing the criminality for the exposure to a material risk; the fact that actual injuries were in fact caused is simply a manifestation of that risk and an aggravating feature. Although those injured in this incident are at the forefront of everyone’s mind, this sentencing exercise should not be seen as an attempt to put a monetary value on what has happened to them or on their injuries; compensation will be for the civil court. No financial penalty can put the clock back. It is for me to judge the seriousness of the offence by assessing culpability and the risk of harm.
The defendant has submitted a written basis of plea dated the 27th May, 2016 which mainly accepts the prosecution case. Where there are material differences the parties have agreed to abide by the findings of the court.
I have received very helpful and able submissions from Mr. Bernard Thorogood for the prosecution and Mr. Simon Antrobus for the defendant company for which I am grateful.
Factual Summary
The defendant company is part of a group which operates 110 attractions across the world and some of the best known visitor attractions in the United Kingdom. Its accounts disclose a turnover of £367m in 2012, £395m in 2013, £412m in 2014 and £385m in
- It is, therefore, a substantial and profitable company.
a fifth train. The second team of engineers came to help. A first empty train was sent round to check the track, but it failed to clear the track section between the first and second lifts (the clear inference is that was due to headwind) and had to be moved manually by the engineers. When a second empty train was sent round to check the system it failed to complete a loop on the “Cobra Roll” again due to head wind and rolled back into a valley. The passengers who were subsequently injured were allowed to proceed in a train. That train was automatically stopped before entering the block containing the “valleyed” empty train. The engineers overrode the block stop and allowed the operator to permit the passenger train to proceed because they believed this related to the earlier fault which had been rectified, the track was clear and the empty train had returned to the station, not appreciating that there were in fact now 5 trains not simply the 4 they could see in the station. The passenger train collided with the empty train at speed. An expert has assessed the kinetic energy as being equivalent to a family car of one and a half tons colliding at 90mph. Some of the passengers state that they experienced the horror of seeing what was about to happen. Most of the track was covered by CCTV cameras which displayed in the control room; had they checked the engineers would have seen the “valleyed” stationary train.
I have viewed a compilation of the CCTV recordings. I was struck by the fact that it was obviously very windy (confirmed by the witnesses) and that the two trains did not simply collide, but pendulumed backwards and forwards emeshed together some 12 times until eventually coming to a stop. The leg room in the front row of the train was limited. Those sitting in the front row bore the brunt of the collision and had their legs crushed by the tangled steel of the two trains. All 16 in the train were trapped and injured to various degrees, hanging at an angle of 45 degrees some 20 feet above the ground. The injured passengers state that there appeared to be a delay before those members of staff on the ground appreciated the enormity and severity of what had happened. It then took time for some sort of scaffolding platform to be erected. It was 17 minutes before a 999 call was made. It was between 4 and 5 hours before all could be released and rescued. During that time they endured great pain and distress. There was significant delay before they were even reached by paramedics. Victoria Balch and Leah Washington suffered significant blood loss and the medical evidence is that their lives were at risk.
The detailed chronology of what occurred minute by minute is set out in the prosecution opening and in the timeline prepared by HSE Inspector Lyn Mizen with helpful colour diagrams at page 1210 of the exhibits. The obvious shambles of what occurred involving lack
of communication and double checking, could and should easily have been avoided by a written system of working to cover this crucial period of human intervention including a single overall supervisor and a structured approach to ensuring the track was safe for passengers before authorising a re-set and return to normal mode.
The Injuries
I have read carefully the medical evidence and the victim impact statements. Most, if not all, of the 16 passengers suffered physical and psychological injuries. Those persons occupying the front rows of the train suffered very serious injuries which have changed their lives. By illustration, two young women in the front row, Victoria Balch and Leah Washington required partial leg amputations. Joe Pugh and Daniel Thorpe suffered serious leg fractures which have impaired their mobility and independence. In the second row Mrs Chandaben Chauhan and her two grown up daughters suffered internal injuries and rib fractures. Whip lash injuries and post traumatic stress disorder are common to most. They all describe how their lives and plans for the future have been turned upside down. Most moving are the statements from family members who not only have had the distress of experiencing their loved ones suffer great trauma, but have had their own lives changed fundamentally, for example by having to give up work to provide care or move from the family home. All those injured and their families have shown great courage and fortitude. This is not meant to be a comprehensive list of the injuries or the residual effects, but some indication of the enormity of the consequences when a train on a rollercoaster is caused or permitted to collide with another one. It contained, as is always likely to be the case, mainly young people, four of whom were aged under 20.
Doing the best I can, I understand that the train was occupied as follows, with their age at the date of the incident:
Row A (front):
Daniel Thorpe 27 Victoria Balch 19 Leah Washington 17 Joe Pugh 18
Row B
Oliver Tinkler 36 Meera Chauhan 26 Chandaben Chauhan 49 Vanisha Singh 29
turnover of the defendant company “very greatly exceeds the threshold for large organisations”, namely £50 million.
Step One Determining the Offence Category
Culpability
The prosecution submit that culpability is “high”. The defence submit that it is borderline high/medium because of the presence of factors listed under “low”.
I am not satisfied that significant efforts were made to address the specific risk in question. There is no evidence that there was any specific assessment of the task centred on block resetting. To simply rely on initial training by the manufacturer and then hope that it would be “cascaded” down to other engineers was woefully inadequate. Although the defendant did ask for training on block resetting it is unclear whether that went beyond merely explaining how it worked or whether any training was actually given or validated. As Mr. Flanagan observed, the responsibility to provide the training and to establish a safe system of work was that of the operator, namely the defendant. Further, the fact that fortunately there had been no such collision before does not equate with there being “no warning/circumstance indicating a risk to health and safety”. I agree with the prosecution that this incident was foreseeable
Based on the evidence of Mr. Flanagan, which I accept, I am satisfied that “The offender fell far short of the appropriate standard” by firstly, “failing to put in place measures that are recognised standards in the industry”, and secondly, “allowing breaches to subsist over a long period of time”. Therefore, I conclude that culpability was “high”.
Harm
I remind myself that the offence is in creating a risk of harm. I need to use the table provided to identify an initial harm category of the risk of harm created by the offence. The assessment of harm requires a consideration of the seriousness of the harm risked (it is common ground that is Level A – death or serious physical impairment with lifelong dependency on others); and the likelihood of that harm arising. The prosecution submit that likelihood was high, the defence say low.
The guideline makes a distinction between consequence (the seriousness of the harm risked) and the likelihood (the chance of
that harm actually arising). By illustration, I have been referred to the meaning of that test as held by the Court of Appeal in R v Board of Trustees of the Science Museum [1993] 1 WLR 1171, per Steyn LJ p1177D. It is simply the risk that something may happen.
It is submitted that the resetting in such circumstances was rare and the combination of the events in this case which led to a decision to override the indication of the system on the false assumption it was clear, another train having been added and to reset with a train already on the track that contained passengers was exceptional. I consider this to be too narrow a view of the risk that was created. It relies on the incomplete passing remarks in witness statements of some of the engineers. The risk is created by the absence of a proper system of work when there is block resetting following a train coming to a standstill. In his addendum expert report Mr.Flanagan concludes “the assertion that block resetting was a rare and unusual event, appears difficult to sustain to me”. The clear inference from the weather conditions is that on two occasions on the day in question two trains came to a halt and had insufficient momentum to engage with the lifts due to gusts of head wind notwithstanding the measured wind speed at a nearby ride may have been still below the manufacture’s recommended level for the safety of the ride as a whole. This cannot have been a rare event. Mr. Flanagan lists a number of other possible reaons which may cause a train to fail to exit a block. Indeed other rides were fitted with a device to monitor if a train has not completed a block (as is now installed on the Smiler). No data has been provided by the defendant to provide a full history and analysis of the reason for each and every block resetting. In conclusion, I am satisfied that there was a high likelihood of harm. Therefore, on the table the harm category is 1.
The next stage is that the court must consider if the following two factors apply: firstly, whether the offence exposed a number of workers or members of the public to the risk of harm. It did to many thousands of mostly young people going back to May 2013. Secondly, whether the offence was a significant cause of actual harm. It was. If one or both these factors apply the court must consider either moving up a harm category or substantially moving up within the category range. Therefore, in my judgement given the presence of these two aggravating factors, when considering the next step I have as a result moved substantially up the category range.
Step Two – Starting Point and Category Range
Having found high culpability and harm category 1, I identify on the
safety of thousands of children and young people. Whilst the defendant should have full credit for the plea of guilty the earlier acceptance of responsibility was tainted by the willingness to blame its employees when the fundamental fault was that of the company.
It has been submitted that I should take into account as some additional mitigation the economic impact of this incident on the company. As a matter of principle, I am not satisfied that is well founded. In any event having perused the accounts and turn over figures I am not persuaded it has had a substantial or lasting impact; it remains a prosperous company and it has not prevented the directors of the parent company being awarded generous share options.
Step Three
I have to check that the proposed fine based on turnover is proportionate to the overall means of the defendant. The fine must also be sufficiently substantial to have a real economic impact which will bring home to both management and shareholders the need to comply with health and safety legislation. Deterrence generally beyond this company is a relevant sentencing principle, pursuant to section 14 2 of the Criminal Justice Act, 2003.
I have stepped back and reviewed the proposed sentence in the light of all the general principles set out in the guideline. Whilst having proper regard to the mitigating factors, I find that there are powerful aggravating factors in a case involving a serious breach of a high duty of care which put thousands at risk of death or serious injury over a long period of time and which has caused devastating injuries to a significant number of people. I, therefore, move beyond the category range and up the offence range. In my judgement had there been a trial the appropriate fine would have been £7,500,000. I reduce that by one third to reflect the plea of guilty at the first reasonable opportunity to £5,000,000.
Prosecution Costs
The defendant will pay the prosecution (the HSE) costs in the agreed sum of £69,955.
